Madrid shaver’s singular adventures, and wonderful escape from the Spanish Inquisition; a true story

THE

Madrid Shaver's

SINGULAR ADVENTURES,

AND

Wonderful Ksscape

FROM THE SPANISH

INQUISITION.

A TRUE STORY.

(UiASGOW :

iMUNr::i) FO^ THE BOOKSK LT.KRS.

THE

Madrid Shaver,

Nicolas Peduosa, a busy little being, who
was shaver, surgeon and man-midwife, in the town
of Madrid, mounted his mule and pushed through
the gate of San Bernardino, being call'd to a pa-
tient in a neighbouring village upon a pressing
occasion. Every body knov^s, that the ladies in
Spain, in certain cases, do not give long warning
to practitioners of a certain description, and
nobody knew it better than Nicolas, who wa?
resolved not to lose an inch of his way, nor
of his mule's best speed by the way, if cudgelling
could beat it out of her. It was plain to Nicolas'?
conviction, as plain could be, that his road lay
straight forward to the little convent in front ; tha
mule was of opinion, that the turning on the lef^
down the hill towards the Prade, was the road of
all roads most familiar and agreeable to hei^elf,
and accordingly began to dispute the point with
Nicolas, by fixing her forefeet resolutely in the
ground, dipping her head at the same time be-
tween them, and launching heels and crupper
furiously into the air, in the way of argument.
Little Pedrosa, who was armed at heel with one
massy silver spur, of stout though ancient work-
manship, resolutely applied the rusty rowel to the
shoulder of the beast, and at the same time, ad-
roitly tucking his blue cap under his right arm,
and flinging his skirt over his left shoulder en
cavalier, began to lay about him with a stout ash-

4

en sapling, upon the ears, pole, and cheeks, of

the recreant mule. The fire now flashed from a
pair of Andalusian eyes, as black as charcoal, and
not less inflammable, and taking the cigar from
his mouth, with which he had vainly hoped to
have regaled his nostrils in a sharp winter's even-
ing by the way, raised such a thundering troop
of angels, saints, and martyrs, from Saint Mic-
hael, downwards, not forgetting his own name-
sake St. Nicolas de Tolentino, by the way, that
if curses could have made the mule to go, the dis-
pute would have been soon ended : but not a saint
could make her stir any other way than upwards
and downwards at a stand. A small troop of
mendicant friars were at this moment conducting
the host to a dying man. — ' Nicolas Pedrosa,'
said an old friar, ' be patient with your beast, and
spare your blasphemies; remember Balaam/ —
* Ah! father,' replied Pedrosa, ' Balaam cudgelled
his beast till she spoke, so will I mine till she
roars.' — ' Fie, fie, prophane fellow,' cries anoth-
er of the fraternity. ^ Go about your work, friend,'
quoth Nicolas, ' and let me go about mine ; 1
warrant it is the more pressing of the two ; your
patient is going out of the world, and mine is
coming into it.* ' Hear him,' cries a third, ^ hear
the vile wretch bow he blasphemes the body of
God.' And then the troop passed slowly on to
the tinkling of the bell.

A man must know nothing a mule's ears,
who does not know what a passion they have for
the tinkling of a bell; and no sooner had the jung-
ling chords vibrated in the sympathetic organs
of Pedrosa's beast, than bolting forward with a

5

sudden spring, she ran roaring into the throng

of friars, trampling on some, and shouldering ott^
ers, at a prophane rate ; when Nicolas availing^
himself of the impetus, and perhaps not able to
control it, broke away, and was out of sight in a
moment. ' All the devils in hell blow nre into
thy tail, thou beast of Babylon, muttered Nicol-
as to himself, as he scampered along, never once
looking behind him, or stopping to apologize for
the mischief he had done to the bare feet and
shirtless ribs of the holy brotherhood.

Whether Nicolas saved his distance, as like-
wise if he did, whether it was a male or a female
Costilian he u^;herd into the world, we shall not
just now enquire, contented to await his return
in the first of the morning, next day, when he
had no sooner dismounted at his shop, and deliv-
ered his mule to a sturdy Arragonese wench, than
Don sgnacia de Santor x^paricio, Alguazil-mayor
of the supreme and general Inquisition, put an
order into his hand, signed and sealed by the In-
quisitor-general, for a conveyance of his body to
the Casa, whose formidable door presents itself in
the street adjoining to the square in which Ni-
colas's brazen basin hung from, the emblem of his
trade.

The poor little fellow, trembling in every joint,
and with a face as yellow as saffron, droptaknee
to the alter which fronts the entrance, and cros-
sed himself most devotely : as soon as he had as-
cended the first flight of stairs, a porter habited
in black opened, the tremendous barricade, and
Nicolas, with horror, heard the grating of the
heavy bolts that shut him in. He wai led

0

through passages and vaults, and melancholy cells,
dil he was delivered into the dungeon, where he
was finally left to his solitary meditations. Hap-
less being ; what a scene of horror 1 Nicolas felt
all the terrors of his condition, but being an An-
dalusian, and, like his countrymen, of a lively
imagination, he began to turn over all the resour-
ces of his invention for happy fetch, if any such
might occur, for helping him out of the dismal
limbo he was in : he had not long to seek for the
cause of his misfortune ; his adventure with the
barefooted friars was a ready solution of all diffi-
culties of that nature, had there been any ; there
was, however, another thing, which might have
troubled a stouter heart than Nicolas's — he was
a Jew. this, of a certain, would have been a
staggering item in a poor devil s confession, but
then it was a secret to all the world but Nicolas,
and Nicolas's conscience did not then urge him
to reveal it. He now began to overhaul the in-
ventory of his personals about him, and with some
satisfaction counted three little medals of the
blessed Virgin, two Agnus Deis, a Saint Nicol-
as de Tolentino, and a formidable string of beads,
all pendant from bis neck, and within his shirt ;
in his pockets he had a paper of dried figs, a small
bundle of cigars, a case of lancets, squirt and for-
ceps, and two old razors in a leathern envelope :
these he had delivered one by one to thealgunzil,
who first arrested him, — ' and let them make the
most of them,' said he to himself, * they can nev-
er prove an Israelite by a case of razors.' Upon
a closer rummage, however, he discovered in a
gecret pocket, a letter, which the Alguazil had

y7

overlooked, and which his patient Donna Leon
ora de Casafonda had given him in charge to de-
liver as directed. ' Well, well/ cried he, ' let it
pass ; there can be no mystery in this harmless
scrawl ; a letter of advice to some friend or rela-
tion ; ril not break the seal ; let the fathers read
it, if they like, 'twill prove the truth of my de-
position, and help out my excuse for the hurry
of my errand, and the unfortunate adventure of
a damned refractory mule.' — And now no sooner
had the recollections of the wayward mule cros-
sed the brain of poor Nicolas Pedrosa, than he
began to blast her at a furious rate. ' The scrat-
ches and the scab to boot confound thy scurvy
hide,' quoth he ' thou ass-begotten bastard,
whom Noah never let into his ark! The ven-
geance take thee, for an uncreated barren beast
of promiscuous generation I What devil's crot-
chet got into thy capricous noddle, that thou
shouldst fall in love with that Nazaritish bell, and
run bellowing like Lucifer into the midst of those
barefooted vermine, who were more malicious and
more greedy than the locusts of Egypt ? Oh !
that I had the art of Simon Magus to conjure
thee into this dungeon in my stead; but I war-
rant thou art chewing thy barley straw without
Any pity for thy wretched master, whom thy jade's
tricks have delivered bodily to the tormentors, to
be sport for these uncircumcised sons of Dagon'
And now the cell door opened, when a savage
figure entered, carrying a huge parcel ot clank-
ing fetters, with a collar of iron, which he put
round the neck of poor Pedrosa, telling him,
with a truly diabolical grin, whilst he wasf

'1i

ri vetting it on, ' that it was a proper cravat for
the throat of a blasphemer.' — ' Jesus Maria I
quoth Pedfosa, ' is all this fallen upon me, for
only cudgelling- a restive mule ? ' Aye,' cried
the demon, ' and this is only a taste of what is
to come,' at the same time slipping the pincers
from the screw he was forcing to the head, he
caught a piece of flesh in the forceps, and wrench-
ed it out of his cheek, laughing at poor Nicolas,
whilst he roared out with the pain, telling him
* it was a just reward for the torture he had put
him to a while ago, when he tugged out a tooth
till he broke it in his jaw.' ' Ah, for the love of
heaven,' cried Pedrosa, ' have more pity on me ;
for the sake of Saint Nicolas de Tolentino, my
holy patron, be not so unmerciful to a poor bar-
ber-surgeon; and I will shave your worship's
beard for nothing as long as I have life.' One
of the messengers of the auditory now came in,
and bade the fellow strike off the prisoner's fet-
ters, for that the holy fathers were in council, and
demanded him for examination. ' This is some-
thing extraordinary,' quoth the tormentor, ' I
should not have expected it this twelvemonth to
come.' Pedrosa's fetters were struck off ; some
brandy was applied to staunch the bleeding of
his cheek ; his hands and face were washed, and
a short jacket of coarse ticking thrown over him ;
and the messenger, with an assistant, taking him
each under an arm, led him into a spacious cham-
ber, where at the head of a long table sat his ex-
cellency the Inquisidor-general, with six of his
accessors, three on each side of the chair of state :
the Alguazil-mayor, a secretary, and two notaries,

.^9

With other officers of the holy council, were at
tending in their places.

The prisoner was placed behind a bar at the
foot of the table, between the messengers who
brought him in ; and having made his obesiance
to the awful presence, in the most supplicating
manner, he was called upon, according to the
usual form of question, by one of the junior judges,
to declare his name, parentage, profession, age,
place of abode, and to answer various interroga-
tories, of the like trifling nature : his Excellency
the Inquisidor-general now opened his reverend
lips, and in a solemn tone of voice, that penetrat-
ed to the heart of the poor trembling prisoner,
interrrogated him as follows : —

Nicolas Pedrosa, we have listened to the ac-
count you give of yourself, your business and con-
nections; now tell us for what offence or olFences,
you are standing a prisoner before vi^ examine
your heart, and speak the truth from your con-
science without prevarication or disguise.

May it please your excellency, replied Pedrosa
with all due submission to your holiness and this
reverend assembly, my most equitable judges, I
conceive I stand here before you for no worse a
crime than that of cudgeling a refractory mule an
animul so restive in its nature, (under correction
of your holiness be it spoken,) that although I
were blessed with the forbearance of holy Job,
(for like him too I am married and my patience
hath been exercised by a wife,) yet could I not
forbear to smite my beast for her obstinacy, and
the rather, because I was summoned in the way
of my profession, as I have already made known

10

to your most merciful ears, upon a certain crying
occasion, which would not admit of a moment's
delay.

Recollect yourself, Nicolas, said his Excellen-
cy, the Inquisidor general ; was there nothing
else you did, save smiting your beast ?

I take Nicholas de Tolenti-no to witness, re-
plied he, that I know of no other crime, for which
I can be responsible at this righteous tribunal,
save smiting my unruly beast. Take notice,
brethren, exclaimed the Inquisidor, this unholy
wretch holds trampling over friars to be no crime.

Pardon me, holy father, replied Nicholas I
hold it for the worst of crimes, and therefore sur-
render my refractory mule to be dealt with as you
see fit : and if you impale her alive it will be no
more than she deserves.

Your wits are too nimble, replied the judge ;
have a care they do not run away with your dis-
cretion ; recollect the blasphemies you uttered in
the hearing of those pious people.

I humbly pray your Excellency, answered the
prisoner, to recollect that anger is a short mad-
ness, and I hope allowances will be made by
your holy council for words spoke in haste to a
rebellious mule : the prophet Balaam was thrown
off his guard by a simple ass, and what is an ass
compared to a mule ? If your Excellency had
seen the lovely creature that was screaming in
agony till I came to her relief, and how fine a
boy I ushered into the world, which would have
been lost but for my assistance, I am sure I should
not be condemned for a few hasty words spoken
in passion.

11

Sirrah ! cried one of the puisne judges, respect
the decency of the court. Produce the contents
of the fellow's pockets before the court, said the
president ; lay them on the table.

Monster ! resumed the aforesaid puisne judge,
taking up the forceps, what is the use of this
diabolical machine ? Please your reverence, re-
plied Pedrosa, ' aptum est ad extrahendos foetus.'
— Unnatural wretch, again exclaimed the judge,
you have murdered the mother.

The mother of God forbid ! exclaimed Pedro-
sa. I believe I have a proof in my pocket that
will acquit me of that charge, and so saying he
tendered the letter we have before made mention
of. The secretary took it, and by command of
the court read as follows : —

Senior Don Manuel de Herrerra,
When this letter, which I send by Nicolas
Pedrosa, shall reach your hands, you will know
that I am safely delivered of a lovely boy, after
a dangerous labour, in consideration of which I
pray you to pay to the said Nicholas Pedrosa
the sum of twenty gold pistoles, which sum his
Excellency — Hold, cried the Inquisitor-general
starting hastily from his seat, and snatching away
the letter, there is more in this than meets the
eye ; break up the court ; I must take an exam-
ination of this prisoner in private.

As soon as the room was cleared, the Inquisi-
tor-general, beckoning to the prisoner to follow
him and retired into a private closet where throw-
ing himself carelessly into aa arm chair, he turn-
ed a gracious countenance upon the poor affright-
ed accoucheur, and bidding him sit down upon

12

a low stool by his side, thus accosted him : —
Take heart. Senior Pedrosa, your imprisonment
Is not likely to be very tedious, for I have a com-
mission you must execute without loss of time ;
you have too much consideration for yourself, to
betray a trust, the violation of which must involve
you in inevitable ruin, and can in no degree at-
taint my character, which is far enough beyond
the reach of malice ; be attentive, therefore, to my
orders; execute them punctually and keep my
secret as you tender your own life : dost thou
know the name and condition of the lady whom
thou hast delivered? Nicholas assured him he
did not and his Excellency proceeeded as follows :
Then I tell thee, Nicholas, it is the illustrious
Donna Leonora de Casafonda ; her husband is the
president of Quito, and daily expected with the
next arrivals from the South Seas : now, though
measures have been taken for detaining him at
the port, where he shall land, till he shall receive
further orders, yet you must be sensible Donna
Leonora's situation is somewhat delicate ; it will
be your business to take the speediest measures
for her recovery ; but as it seems she has had a
dangerous and painful labour, this may be a work
of more time than could be wished, unless some
medicines more efficacious, than common are ad-
ministered ; art thou acquainted with any such,
friend Nicolas, my pos esses have been tolerably
successful ; I have bandages and cataplasms, wdth
oils and conserves, that I have no cause to com-
:)lain of; they will restore nature to its proper
itate in all decent time. — Thou talkest like a fool, |
friend Nicolas, interrupting him, said the Inquis=

13

itor? What tellest thou me of tny swathiugs

and svvaddlings ? quick work must be wrought
by quick medicine : hast thou none such in thy
botica ? I'll answer for it thou hast not ; there-
fore, look you, sirrah, here is a little vial com-i
pounded by a famous chemist ; see that you mix
it in the next apocem you administer to Donna
Leonora ; it is the most capital sedative in nat-
ure ; give her the whole of it and let her husband
return when he will, depend upon it he will make
no discoveries from her. — Humph ! quoth Nico-
las within himself, well said Inquisidor ! He
took the vial with all possible respect, and was
not wanting in professions of the most inviolable
fidelity and secrecy No more words friend Nic-
olas, quoth the Inquisidor, upon that score ; I do
not believe thee one jot the more for all thy pro-
mises, my dependence is upon thy fears and not
thy faith ; I fancy thou hast seen enough of this
place not to wish to return to it once for all.
Having so said, he rang a bell, and ordered Nic-
olas to be forthwith liberated, bidding the mes-
senger return his clothes instantly to him with
all that belonged to him, and having slipt a purse
into his hand well filled with doublooiig, he bade
him begone about his business, and not see his
face again till he had executed his demands.

Nicolas bolted out of the porch without taking
leave of the altar, and never checked his speed
till he found himself fairly housed under shelter

of his own beloved brass bason Aha! quoth

Nicolas, my lord Inquisidor, I see the king is not
likely to gain a subject more by your intrigues ;
.a pretty job you have set me about ; and so,

■1'4

when I have put the poor lady to rest with your
damned sedative, my tongue must be stopt next
to prevent its blabbing ; but FU shew you I was
not born in Andalusia for nothing. Nicolas now
opened a secret drawer, and took out a few pieces
of money, which, in fact, was his whole stock of
cash in the world ; he loaded and primed his pis-
tols, and carefully lodged them in the holsters of
his saddle ! he buckled to his side his trusty spade,
and hastened to caparison his mule. Ah, thou
imp of the old one, quoth he, as he entered the
stable, art not ashamed to look me in the face ?
But come, hussy, thou owest me a good turn,
methinks ; stand by me this once, and be friends
for ever 1 thou art in good case, and if thou wilt
put thy best foot foremost, like a faithful beast,
thou shalt not want for barley on the way. The
bargain was soon struck between Nicolas and
his mule, he mounted her in the happy moment,
and pointing his course toward the bridge of
Toledo, which proudly strides with half a dozen
lofty arches over a stream scarce three feet wide,
he found himself as completely in a desart in half
a mile's riding, as if he had been dropt in the
centre of Arabia Petrsea. As Nicolas's journey
was not a tour of curiosity, he did not amuse
himself with a peep at Toledo, or Talavera, or
even Merida by the way ; for the same reason he
took a circumbendibus round the frontier town
of Badajoz ; and crossing a little brook, refreshed
his mule with the last draught of Spanish water,
and instantly congratulated himself upon enter-
ing the territory of Portugal. Bravo I quoth
he, patting the neck of his mule, thou shalt

15

have a supper this night of the best sive-meat
that Estramadura can furnish ; we are now in a
country where the scattered flock of Israel fold
thick and fare w^ell. He now began to chaunt
the Song of Solomon, and gently ambled on in
the joy of his heart.

When Nicolas at length reached the city of
Lisbon, he hugged himself in his good fortune,
still he recollected that the Inquisition had long
arms, and he w^as yet in a place of no perfect se*
curity. Our adventurer had in early life acted
as assistant-surgeon in a Spanish frigate bound
to Buenos-Ayres, and been captured by a British
man-of-war, and carried into Jamaica, had very
quietly passed some years in that place as jour-
neyman apothecary, in which time he had ac-
quired a tolerable acquaintance with the English
languish. No sooner them did he discover the
British ensign flying on the poop of an English
frigate the lying in the Tagus, than he eagerly
caught the opportunity of paying a visit to the
surgeon ; and finding he was in want of a mate,
off'ered himself, and was entered in that capacity
for a cruize against the French and Spaniards,
with whom Great Britain was then at war. In
this secure asylum Nicohis enjoyed the first hap-
py moments he had experienced for a long time
past, and being a lively good natured little fel-
low, and one that touched the guitar and sung
sequidillas with a tolerable grace, he soon recom*
mended himself to his ship-mates, and grew in
favour with every body on board, from the cap-
tain to the cook's mate.

When they were out upon their cruize, hover-

16

ing on the Spanish coast, it occurred to Nicolas,
that the Inquisitor-general at Madrid had told
him of the expected arrival of the president of
Quito, and having imparted this to one of the
lieutenants, he reported it to the captain ; and as
the intelligence seemed of importance, he availed
himself of it, by hawling into the track of the
homeward-bound galleons, and great was the joy,
when at the break of the morning the man at the
mast-head announced a square-rigged vessel in
view. The ardour of a chace now set all hands
at work ; and a few hours brought them near en-
ough to discern that she was a Spanish frigate,
and seemingly from a long voyage : little Pedrosa,
as alert as the rest, stript himself for his work,
and repaired to his post in the cockpit, whilst the
thunder of the guns reeled incessantly over his
head ; three cheers from the whole crew at length
announced the moment of victory, and a few
more minutes ascertained the good news, that the
prize was a frigate richly laden from the South
Seas, with the governor of Quito and his suite
on board.

Pedrosa was now called upon deck, and sent
on board the prize as interpreter to the first lieu-
tenant, who was to take posession, of her. — He
found every thing in confusion, a deck covered
with the slain, and the whole crew in consterna-
tion at an event they were in no degree prepared i
for, not having received any intimation of a war.
He found the officers in general, and the passen-
gers without exception, under the most horrid im- |
pression of the English, expecting to be butcher- j
ed without mercy, Don Manuel de Casafonda,

the governor, whose countenance bespoke a con-
st! tuation far gone in a decline, had thrown him-
self on a sofa, in the last state of despair, and
given way to an effusion of tears : when the lieu-
tenant entered the cabin he rose trembling from
his couch, and with the most supplicating action,
presented to him his sword, and with it a casket
which he carried in his other hand : as he tender-
ed these spoils to his conqueror, whether through
his weakness, or of his own will, he made a mo-
tion of bending his knee : the generous Briion,
shocked at the unmanly overture, caught him
suddenly with both hands, and turning to Ped-
rosa, said aloud, — Convince this gentleman he
is fallen into the hands of an honourable enemy.
Is it possible ! cried Don Manuel, and lifting up
his streaming eyes to the countenance of the Brit-
ish officer, saw humanity, valour, and generous
pity, so strongly characterized in his youthful
features, that the conviction was irresistable. Will
he not accept my sword? cried the Spaniard.
He desires you to wear it, till he has the honour
of presenting you to his captain. Ah ! then he
has a captain, exclaimed Don Manuel, his sup-
perior will be of another way of thinking ; tell him
this casket contains my jewels ; they are valuable ;
let him present them as a lawful prize, which will
enrich the captor; his superior will not hesitate
to take them from me — If they are your excell-
ency's private property, replied Predrosa, I am
ordered to assure you, that if your ship were lad-
en with jewels, no British officer in the service
of his king will take them at your hands ; the ship
and effects of his Catholic Majesty are the only

prize of the captors ; the personals of the paMeii-

gers are inviolate. — Generous nation ! exclaimtd
Don Manuel, how greatly have I wronged thee !
The boats of the British frigate now came along-
side, and part of the crew were shifted out of the
prize, an officer in the stern-sheets, and the crew
in their white shirts and velvet caps, also came to
escort the governor and the ship's captain on
board the frigate, which lay with her sails to the
mast, awaiting their arrival : who were received
on the gang-way by the second lieutenant, whilst
perfect silence and the strictest discipline reigned
in the ship, where all were under the decks, and
no inquisitive eyes were suffered to wound the
feelings of the conquered. In the door of his
cabin stood the captain, who received them with
complaisance, which does not revolt the unfort-
unate by an overstrained politeness : which could
not fail to impress the prisoners with the most
favourable ideas; and as Don Manuel spoke
French, he could converse with the British Cap-
tain without the help of an interpreter ; as he ex-
pressed an impatient desire of being admitted to
his parole, that he might revisit his connections,
from whom he had been long separated, he was
overjoyed to hear that the English ship would
carry her prize into Lisbon ; and that he would
there be set on shore, and permitted to make the
best of his way from thence to Madrid. He I
talked of his wife with all the ardour of the most |
impassioned lover, and on whom he doated with I
the fondest aff*ection. The captain indulged him
in these conversatians, and being a husband him-
self, knew how to allow for all the tenderness of;

19

higftniations. Ah, Sir, cried Don Manuel, turn-
ing to Pedrosa, who at that moment entered the
cabin, this gentleman, whom I take to be a
Spaniard, may have heard the name of Donna
Leonoro de Casafonda ; if he has been at Madrid,
it is possible he may have seen her ; should that
be the case, he can testify to her external charms;
I alone can witness the perfections of her mind. —
Senior Don Manuel, replied Pedrosa, I have
seen Donna Leonora, and your Excellency is
warranted in all you can say in her praise, these
words threw the uxorious Spaniard into raptures ;
his eyes sparkled with delight; the blood rushed
into his emaciated cheeks, and every feature
glowed with unutterable joy : he pressed Pedrosa
with a variety of rapid enquiries, all which he
evaded saying that he had only a casual glance
of her. The embarrassment, however, which ac-
companied these answers, did not escape the
English captain, who, shortly after, drawing
Pedrosa aside into the surgeon's cabin, was by
him made acquainted with the melancholy situ-
ation of that unfortunate lady, nay, the very vial
was produced, with its contents, as put into the
hands of Pedrosa by the Inquisitor.

My heart bleeds said the British Captain, for
this unhappy husband ; assuredly that monster
has destroyed Leonora; as for thee, Pedrosa,
whilst the British flag flies over your head, neith-
er Spain, nor Portugal, nor Inquisitors, nor de-
vils, shall annoy thee under its protection; but
if thou ever ventures t over the side of this ship,
and rashly settest thy foot upon Catholic soil,
when we arrive at Lisbon, thou art a lost man.—

20

I were worse than a madman, replied Nicolasi
should I attempt it.— Keep close in this asylum;
had it been our fate to have been captured by
the Spaniard, what would have become of thee,
^^icolas replied I should have applied to the In*
quisitor's vial ; but a ship so commanded and so
manned is in little danger of being «,;arried into a
Spanish port — I hope not, said the captain, and
I promise thee, thou shalt take thy chance in her
as long as she is under my command ; and if we
conduct her to England, thou shalt have thy pro-
per share of prize-money, which, if the galleon
breaks up according to her entries, will be some-
thing towards enabling thee to shift, and if thou
art as diligent in thy calling, as 1 am persuaded
thou wilt be, whilst I live thou shalt never want
a seaman's friend. — At these cheering words,
little Nicolas threw himself at the feet of his gen-
erous preserver, and with streaming eyes, poured
out his thanks from a heart animated with joy

and gratitude The captain raising him by the

hand, forbade him as he prized his friendship,
ever to address him in that posture any more ;
thank me, if you will, added he, but thank me
as one man should another : let no knee bend in
this ship but in adoration of God — But now,
continued he, let us turn our thoughts to the sit-
uation of our unhappy Casafonda: we are now
drawing near Lisbon, where he will look to be
liberated on his parole. By no means let him
venture into Spain, said Pedrosa ; I am well as-
sured there are orders to arrest him in every port,
or frontier town where he may present himself.
I can well believe it, replied the captain ; his

%l

piteous case will require further deliberation ; in
the mezin time, let nothing transpire on your
part ; and keep yourself out of his sight as care-
fully as you can.— This said, the captain left the
cabin, and both parties repaired to their several
occupations.

As soon as the frigate and her prize cast an--
chor in the Tagus, Don Manuel de Casafonda
impatiently reminded our captain of his promised
parole. The painful moment was now come,
when an explanation of some sort became una-
voidable : the generous Englishman, w^ith a coun
teiiance expressive of the tenderest pity, took the
Spaniard's hand in his, and seating him on a
couch beside him, ordered the centinel to keep
the cabin private, and delivered himself as fol-
^ lows : —

Senior Don Manuel, I must now impart to you
that you have enemies in your own country, who
will arrest you on your landing; but repose
such trust in my honour, and do not demand a
further explanation — Heaven and earth! cried
:he astonished Spaniard, who can be those ene-
nies, and what have I done to deserve them ! So
isup I will open myself answered the captain, as
o point out the Inquisitor-general. The best
riend I have in Spain, exclaimed the Governor,
ly sworn ])rotector he my enemy ! impossible.
Veil sir, replied the captain, I must exert my
^lathority for your sake, to make this ship your
'^■rison, till I have waited on our minister at Lis-
s-fcn, and enquire for your safety ; but suspend the
f^ilirshness of this measure till I return ; and at
jl^'le same time, he gave orders for the barg« ; and
lii^l

22

strict injunctions not to allow of the governci^s
quitting- the frigate ; he put off for the shore.

Tiie emissaries of the Inquisition had traced
Pedrosa, our captain had no sooner gone ashore
than he was accosted by a messenger of state, for
the surrender of Pedrosa ; our worthy captain then
said, that Spaniard is now born on my books, and
before you shall take him out of the service of my
king you must sink his ship. He instantly pro-
ceeded to the house of the British Minister : here
he found Pedrosa's intelligence, expressly ver-
ified.

The captain xost no time in returning to his
frigate, where he imparted to Don Manuel the
intelligence he obtained at the British Minister's.
The proposal was now suggested of sending let-
ters into Spain, and the governor retired to his
desk and wrote them. In the afternoon the Min-
ister paid a visit to the captain, and received a
packet from Don Manuel, and promised to for-
ward them by a safe conveyance.

In due course this fatal letter from Leonora ^
opened all the horrible transactions to the wretch- "
ed husband : — ?'

The guilty hand of an expiring wife, under ^
the agonizing operation of a mortal poison, tracesf
these few trembling lines to an injured, wretchecr
husband. If thou hast any pity for my parting
spirit, fly the ruin that awaits thee, and avoicM
this scene of villany and horror. I have bornp
a child to the monster, whose poison runs in m;p
veins. The Inquisitor is my murderer.— Mw
pen falls from my hand — Farewell for ever 1"

Had a shot passed through the heart of DoHi

4:

2S

Manuel, it could not more effectually have stopt
its motions, he dropped lifeless on the couch, but
by the care of the captain and Pedrosa. He soon
recovered Grief like his cannot be described by
words, 'twas suffocating woe.

Drop the curtain over this melancholy pause,
and attend the mournful widower, now landed
upon English ground, and conveyed to the
house of a noble Earl, the father of our amiable
captain. At the period of a few tranquillizing
weeks, here passed in the bosom of humanity, let-
ters came to hand from the British Minister at
Lisbon, in answer to a memorial, that I should
have stated to have been drawn up by the friend-
ly captain before his departure from that port.
By these letters it appeared, that the criminal
was either no longer in existence, or in a situation
ever to be heard of any more, till roused by the
awakening trump, he should be summoned to his
tremendous last account. As for the unhappy
[widower, it was fully signified to him, from
iuthority, that his return to Spain, whether up-
)n exchange or parole, would be no longer op-
)osed ; nor had he any thing to apprehend on
he part of government, when he should arrive
here. The same was signified in fewer words
1 the exculpated Pedrosa,

Whether Don Manuel de Casafonda will at a
iture period, avail himself of the overtures, time
one can prove : as for little Nicolas, whose
'Izv money has set him up in a comfortable little
(()[) in Duke's place, where he breathes the
■ins and cleanses the bowels of his Israelitish
tthren, in a land of fredom and toleration. His

24

merry heart is at rest, save only when, with fire
in his eyes, and vengeance on his tongue, he
anathematizes the Inquisition : and struts in the
synagogue every Sabbath, with as bold a step
and as erect a look, as if he was himself High
Priest of the Temple, going to perform sacrifices
upon the re-assembling of the scattered tribes.